Monday, April 26, 2010

Parrot Fish Sezchaun Style

This is the fish I bought, named for it's bright blue colors it comes in hues from bright red to this blue.
I bought the fish as soon as he was finished scaling and cooked it soon after. I had the camera to take a photo of the finished dish as it looks so beautiful on the plate, but the battery died and the fish was ready to be eaten. I will give you all the steps to have your fish standing on the plate, drizzled lightly with sauce, it's crispy goodness ready to serve.

1 small whole fish per person (Parrot or your local freshest fish)
Salt
All purpose flour for dredging
Peanut oil for frying

Take the fish and with a pair of kitchen shears trim any fins or exterior nasty bits. I trim the tail and cut a slit into at at the level of the mouth.

With a sharp knife cut through the fish 3 slats on each side. Lightly salt on both sides and dredge in flour. Now get your butchers twine and cut a piece long enough to wrap around the fish, wedge the twine in the fish's mouth and bring around looping into the slat on the tail curling the fish and tying tightly.

The fish should stand up on a plate at this point with both sides exposed. If it does not redo the twine tighter until the fish is in a half circle and can stand, this is important to the presentation. Once all your fish are tied and standing put on a sheet uncovered in the refrigerator until time to fry.

Mix all ingredients and let rest until fish is fried. This is enough to lightly drizzle 4 fish.

If you don't have a deep fryer large enough for up to 4 fish (or as many as you are serving) get a large heavy bottomed pan and fill with enough peanut oil to completely immerse 4 fish. Heat oil to 400 and SLOWLY put the fish in the oil one by one making sure they don't stick together.

Take the sauce and put in a pan and put on a low heat, just to warm it.

Fry the fish for at least 10 minutes, you want crisp, golden and fully cooked and to fully cook it takes longer than you might think. Gently remove with a strainer to a rack to drain, carefully cut and remove the string disturbing as little crust as possible.

Gently lift your beautiful dish and stand it on plates, light drizzle with sauce over the top of the spine.
Then garnish with
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup finely chopped chives